Bereavement care for ethnic minority communities : a systematic review of access to, models of, outcomes from, and satisfaction with, service provision

Objectives To review and synthesize the existing evidence on bereavement care, within the United Kingdom (UK), for ethnic minority communities in terms of barriers and facilitators to access; models of care; outcomes from, and satisfaction with, service provision. Design A systematic review adopting a framework synthesis approach was conducted. An electronic search of the literature was undertaken in MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Social Work Abstract and CINAHL via EBSCO, Global Health, Cochrane library, the Trip database and ProQuest between 1995 and 2020. Search terms included bereavement care, ethnic minority populations and the UK setting. Results From 3,185 initial records, following screening for eligibility, and full-text review of 164 articles, seven studies were identified. There was no research literature outlining the role of family, friends and existing networks; and a real absence of evidence about outcomes and levels of satisfaction for those from an ethnic minority background who receive bereavement care. From the limited literature, the overarching theme for barriers to bereavement care was ‘unfamiliarity and irregularities’. Four identified subthemes were ‘lack of awareness’; ‘variability in support’; ‘type and format of support’; and ‘culturally specific beliefs’. The overarching theme for facilitators for bereavement care was ‘accessibility’ with the two subthemes being ‘readily available information’ and ‘inclusive approaches’. Three studies reported on examples of different models of care provision. Conclusions This review reveals a stark lack of evidence about bereavement care for ethnic minority populations. In particular, understanding more about the role of family, friends and existing support systems, alongside outcomes and satisfaction will begin to develop the evidence base underpinning current provision. Direct user-representation through proactive engagement and co-design approaches may begin to determine the most appropriate models and format of bereavement care for ethnic minority communities to inform service design and delivery

Constructing a virtual Tower of Babel: a case study in cross-cultural collaboration across three continents

The collaboration project described in this paper revolves around the construction of a virtual Tower of Babel in a 3D Collaborative Virtual Environment (3D CVE). It involved students across three cooperating institutions, on three different continents in different time zones. It addresses the increasing need for students to engage in international collaboration, as much of today's Information and Communication Technology work demands it. This requires cross-cultural understandings with one's co-collaborators, yet there are few opportunities for this to occur in a pedagogical setting. Therefore, this paper discusses a pedagogically-oriented case study of the use of a 3D CVE as a multi-cultural classroom, describing and discussing different phases in the cross-cultural collaborative process

An overview of the Jordanian oil shale: its chemical and geologic characteristics, exploration, reserves and feasibility for oil and cement production

Abstract Oil shale is the most abundant fossil energy resource discovered in Jordan, ranking third after the USA and Brazil in terms of oil shale reserves. This asset is considered to be Jordan's most extensive domestic fossil-fuel source. The identified reserves of this oil shale are huge and sufficient to satisfy the national energy needs for hundreds of years. Numerous geologic studies have shown that the country contains several oil shale deposits. These deposits are regarded as the richest in organic bituminous marl and limestone that occur at shallow depth. Jordanian oil shale is generally of a good quality, with relatively low ash and moisture contents, a gross calorific value of 7.5 MJ/kg, and an oil yield of 8 to 12%. The spent shale has residual carbon content that may be burned to produce further energy, and ash that can be used for cement and building materials. The current study summarizes the results of the former feasibility studies and discuses the scope of future usage of Jordanian oil shale. The value of this oil shale and its associated products is highlighted herein

DNA methylation is required to maintain both DNA replication timing precision and 3D genome organization integrity

DNA replication timing and three-dimensional (3D) genome organization are associated with distinct epigenome patterns across large domains. However, whether alterations in the epigenome, in particular cancer-related DNA hypomethylation, affects higher-order levels of genome architecture is still unclear. Here, using Repli-Seq, single-cell Repli-Seq, and Hi-C, we show that genome-wide methylation loss is associated with both concordant loss of replication timing precision and deregulation of 3D genome organization. Notably, we find distinct disruption in 3D genome compartmentalization, striking gains in cell-to-cell replication timing heterogeneity and loss of allelic replication timing in cancer hypomethylation models, potentially through the gene deregulation of DNA replication and genome organization pathways. Finally, we identify ectopic H3K4me3-H3K9me3 domains from across large hypomethylated domains, where late replication is maintained, which we purport serves to protect against catastrophic genome reorganization and aberrant gene transcription. Our results highlight a potential role for the methylome in the maintenance of 3D genome regulation

BASS XXXVII: the role of radiative feedback in the growth and obscuration properties of nearby supermassive black holes

Galaxie

Genotoxic effect induced by hydrogen peroxide in human hepatoma cells using comet assay

Background: Hydrogen peroxide is a common reactive oxygen intermediate generated by variousforms of oxidative stress. Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the DNA damage capacity ofH2O2 in HepG2 cells. Methods: Cells were treated with H2O2 at concentrations of 25 μM or 50 μM for5 min, 30 min, 40 min, 1 h or 24 h in parallel. The extent of DNA damage was assessed by the cometassay. Results: Compared to the control, DNA damage by 25 μM and 50 μM H2O2 increasedsignificantly with increasing incubation time up to 1 h, but it was not increased at 24 h. Conclusions:Our Findings confirm that H2O2 is a typical DNA damage inducing agent and thus is a good modelsystem to study the effects of oxidative stress. DNA damage in HepG2 cells increased significantlywith H2O2 concentration and time of incubation but later decreased likely due to DNA repairmechanisms and antioxidant enzyme

BASS. XXIX. The near-infrared view of the broad-line region (BLR): the effects of obscuration in BLR characterization

Galaxie

Measurement of prompt hadron production ratios in pppp collisions at s=\sqrt{s} = 0.9 and 7 TeV

The charged-particle production ratios $\bar{p}/p$, $K^-/K^+$, $\pi^-/\pi^+$, $(p + \bar{p})/(\pi^+ + \pi^-)$, $(K^+ + K^-)/(\pi^+ + \pi^-)$ and $(p + \bar{p})/(K^+ + K^-)$ are measured with the LHCb detector using $0.3 {\rm nb^{-1}}$ of $pp$ collisions delivered by the LHC at $\sqrt{s} = 0.9$ TeV and $1.8 {\rm nb^{-1}}$ at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV. The measurements are performed as a function of transverse momentum $p_{\rm T}$ and pseudorapidity $\eta$. The production ratios are compared to the predictions of several Monte Carlo generator settings, none of which are able to describe adequately all observables. The ratio $\bar{p}/p$ is also considered as a function of rapidity loss, $\Delta y \equiv y_{\rm beam} - y$, and is used to constrain models of baryon transport.Comment: Incorrect entries in Table 2 corrected. No consequences for rest of pape

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives